Latoshi
Latoshi is one of the main protagonists of A Blond Ray of Sunshine — a Pokémon fan fiction series that takes place in a future timeline, almost one hundred years after the events of Pokémon Red and Blue. Making his debut in Sibling Rivalry, he is portrayed as a snarky, cocky 13-year-old boy from the region of Johto. As the sole survivor of a mysterious, deadly explosion that wiped out an entire Johto town, Latoshi is taken to a military black site. He awakens in an isolated prison cell with no memories. He begins to lose his sanity, until he's visited by a disembodied spirit named Lazarus. Lazarus teaches the boy to harness the energy of his spirit — his Ki — in order to slaughter people under Lazarus' ideal of 'cleansing' the world of evil. After Latoshi breaks free from, and destroys, the military site, he soon runs into his twin brother: Antoshi. Latoshi soon realizes the error of his ways, while also uncovering Lazarus' true nature as a spirit parasite; stealing his spirit energy along with control of his physical body. After ridding himself of Lazarus, Latoshi eventually reconciles with his brother and his sister, Mitoshi. He regains his memories soon after, makes peace with the events that occurred, and meets his biological parents. He renounces the ideals and the hatred that Lazarus taught him, deciding to live with his siblings. Conception and creation Latoshi was conceived some time in mid-late 2002, through text role-playing in AOL chat rooms. Latoshi was originally portrayed as a snarky, sarcastic 13-year-old. If angered enough, he would unleash his 'Dark' power and become violent and bloodthirsty. This brutish, edgy personality carried over into the first take of fan fiction stories starring the character, which began in 2002. Latoshi was given no backstory, and no explanation as to why Antoshi was his long-lost brother. The first series lasted for six stories and one 'special,' spanning from 2002–2008. When the series went through a reboot in 2009, Latoshi debuted in a new story, Brotherly Love. More focus was put on making a serious, coherent, ongoing storyline. Latoshi discovers and develops his powers through a new character, Lazarus, as opposed to simply always having them. The backgrounds of Antoshi and Latoshi are also explored further. The second series spanned five stories, with a sixth left unfinished, before being dropped in 2012. The series went through another reboot in 2017 — its current incarnation — overhauling and expanding the story of 2009's Brotherly Love (now titled Sibling Rivalry), where Latoshi makes his debut, while keeping the core plot points intact. Appearances Sibling Rivalry (2018) Latoshi is the only known survivor of the destruction of Fern Town in Johto. The blast he creates to cause the town's end leaves him unconscious for several days. After awakening in a military prison cell, Latoshi realizes that he's lost all of his memories. Eventually, he gives in to mania from lack of human contact. He is greeted by a voice in his head, calling itself 'Lazarus.' Lazarus teaches Latoshi over how to harness, wield, and control his Ki. Latoshi eventually becomes strong enough to escape his prison, murdering several military police, and his captors, before destroying the entire black site. Latoshi flees to nearby Goldenrod City. Guided by Lazarus' influence, and the lingering bitterness inside him, he believes that too many people — such as his former captors — are evil, and unworthy of living. He begins a campaign of killing these 'parasites' in order to bring out a 'perfect world.' Soon, he runs into Antoshi. The two are shocked to find that they appear almost physically identical, save for the colors of their hair. They get along for a brief time before Antoshi, with great suspicion about Latoshi's identity, presses him with questions regarding the destruction of the Johto town. Irritated, Latoshi lures Antoshi and Fireball into the Ilex Forest, where he reveals his plans for his ideal utopian world — by murdering everyone Latoshi deems to be evil. He invites Antoshi to join him. Antoshi is shocked by Latoshi's willingness to kill, and vehemently declines. A clash between the two young men with superpowers ensues. Latoshi, who wields superior control over his own powers, emerges soundly victorious. He leaves Antoshi bloodied, brutally beaten, and nearly unconscious. Fireball is also left unconscious and badly injured. Lazarus insists that Latoshi kill Antoshi. Before he can finish Antoshi off, however, he has a last-second change of heart. Latoshi leaves Antoshi unconscious in the woods. After, Lazarus creates an excruciating noise in Latoshi's head. He warns the boy never to disobey his orders again. Intervention (2018) Latoshi continues to remain obedient toward Lazarus, continuing his training in secret, to become strong enough to defeat Antoshi again, along with anyone else in his way. However, the boy is more interested in regaining his memories, which start to come back to him in pieces. Lazarus becomes fed up with Latoshi's obsession over his past. He reveals to Latoshi that he is the reason for Latoshi's amnesia, by way of using his own powers to 'lock away' his memories. After this revelation, Lazarus locks more of his recent memories away, keeping the boy unwittingly loyal to him. Lazarus instructs Latoshi to go on a killing spree in various prisons around Goldenrod City. Afterward, he walks along the beach, where he is found by his blond-haired rival. Antoshi tries once again to get Latoshi to stop his crusade, but Latoshi goads him into another fight. Due to his near-constant training, Antoshi gains a strong upper hand in their fight for some time. Lazarus eventually steps in, taking over control of Latoshi's body, to turn the tables. Antoshi outlasts Lazarus' time-limited control, violently beating down Latoshi as the sable-haired boy regains consciousness. Lazarus' manages to infect part of Antoshi's spirit, speaking to him, mesmerizing him. His aura becomes corrupted, just like Latoshi's, and prepares to finish off Latoshi for good. Antoshi hears Fireball plead for him to stop, breaking the parasite's control, letting Latoshi go. The two boys share a moment of somber peace, before Lazarus forces Latoshi to flee. Exhausted, Latoshi is heartbroken that Lazarus treated him so poorly during the fight. He, again, shows his unwillingness to follow Lazarus any longer, forcing Lazarus to once again lock away his recent memories. The boy becomes almost robotic as a result, a shell of his former self. Family Reunion (2019) Latoshi, showing severe signs of an impending psychotic break, is forced by Lazarus to continue his training and step up his abilities to the next level in order to match Antoshi. After remaining seated and motionless for hours, Latoshi has enough of Lazarus' teaching methods. He snaps, going on a rampage in an abandoned area of Goldenrod City. He lays waste to multiple high-rise buildings, destroying a city block. Once he tires himself out, Lazarus takes control of the boy's body, forcing him to head back to seclusion. Lazarus realizes this is a result of the lingering hatred the boy holds towards Lazarus, and the parasite constantly blocking the boy's memories, leaving Latoshi confused. Lazarus decides to block the boy's memories no longer. After awaking, settling down, and unaware of the destruction he'd wrought, Latoshi follows Lazarus' suggestion to go to Antoshi once more. Latoshi waits outside the cabin near Route 35 where Antoshi, Fireball, and Mitoshi — the sister he is unaware of — are staying. When Antoshi and Fireball leave, Latoshi knocks the girl out, kidnaps her, and leaves a note telling Antoshi to follow him to Mt. Mortar. Once Antoshi and Fireball are there, Antoshi explains Mitoshi is their sister, but Latoshi believes it's a bluff and attempts to execute her. She is saved, faster than any of them realize, by Serenity. Infuriated, Latoshi attempts to fight Serenity, but is effortlessly defeated by her. After Antoshi declines to fight him again, Mitoshi steps up and fights in his stead despite having no fighting experience. She, too, defeats Latoshi, highlighting just how enfeebled he has become under Lazarus' 'tutelage.' The showdown is interrupted when a mysterious young man named Collin arrives, hovering over their heads. He reveals himself to be Serenity's brother, and the former host for Lazarus. Collin explains to Latoshi that he's wasting his time keeping Lazarus around, and that the parasite is only out for itself. Collin takes his leave, as does a confused and enraged Latoshi, and then the rest go their own way. Seething with anger, Latoshi destroys part of the wooded area outside Route 35. Lazarus attempts to calm the boy down, explaining its actions, insisting it's only doing what's best for the boy. Latoshi indeed calms down, becoming unusually placid. The boy reflects on his life, his lost memories, his relationship with Antoshi and others, and where fate has led him since awaking in the military prison. Ultimately, Latoshi decides that Antoshi and the others are right — Lazarus is worthless. Lazarus shows its true colors, finally explaining to the boy that it planned to take over his body and exterminate all humans on the planet. Latoshi engages in an inner struggle, removing the spirit parasite from himself. Lazarus is enraged, telling the boy that he will return, and that Latoshi will never be free of him. Latoshi awakens hours later, finding his Ki severely diminished. He leaves the forest and ends up wandering aimlessly through Goldenrod City. He soon finds a couple of men pointing a gun at another man inside an alley. Latoshi beats up the gunmen, chasing them off. The man introduces himself as Emilio, explaining that he was a Rocket, but was forced out after his bosses discovered he was skimming money from their profits. The man is ready to leave Goldenrod to be with his daughter, so Latoshi sticks with him to deliver him safely to the train station. Latoshi helps fend off further Rockets that show up, including Chad, the boss of former Rockets Matt and Jalyn. After they reach the station, Latoshi and Emilio say their farewells. To the boy's surprise, however, Serenity appears at the train station. She praises him for his deed, as well as ridding himself of Lazarus' spirit. She gently guides him to go and talk to his siblings, rejecting his belief that they hate him. She leaves him, allowing him to decide on his own terms what to do. Days later, Latoshi is still in Goldenrod City. He encounters Collin. After calling Collin's bluff on his strength, Collin suddenly causes a nearby skyscraper to topple without Latoshi noticing him do anything. Latoshi is enraged, but Collin explains that his sister Serenity saved everyone inside the structure. She appears before Collin and Latoshi, the former of which offering hollow praise while the latter is in total shock at her abilities. She rebukes Collin for losing control of himself, to which Collin explains it was to show Latoshi that he indeed possesses great power. In doing so, she reveals to Latoshi that Collin is the culprit behind the destruction of Slateport City in Hoenn — an act which killed millions of people. Collin politely takes his leave, as does Serenity, leaving Latoshi alone once again. Latoshi shows up at the cabin where his siblings are. They eagerly accept him, allowing him to stay in his own bedroom in the cabin. Latoshi sleeps for the better part of a few days, before startling the others with the revelation that he finally regained all of his memories. He finally knows he killed not only all of Fern Town, but also his adoptive parents. The next day, the three siblings and Fireball visit the remnants of Fern Town, which had been turned into a memorial park. Latoshi goes alone, finding his parents graves, deciding to speak to them. Having found closure, Latoshi rejoins the group, prompting Antoshi to seek closure of his own, getting answers from his own parents about his adoption. Once the duo return to the cabin, Latoshi suggests that there's one set of parents left to speak to: Mitoshi's. They set out for Mitoshi's home in the suburbs outside Olivine City, where a neighbor informs them that her parents were in an automobile accident. Terrified, the siblings accept a ride from the neighbor, who takes them to the hospital. To the girl's relief, her mother is fine, and her father only received an injury to his leg. She introduces her brothers to them, much to the overwhelming shock and joy of her parents. The group sit down and allow their mother to explain the full circumstances behind their adoption. Antoshi and Latoshi share their stories as well, and all sides are relieved to finally be able to meet each other after thirteen years spent apart. The siblings eventually take their leave, and head back to the cabin. Some time later, while the group are enjoying breakfast together, Antoshi notices a mysterious figure fly over their house, leaving what appear to be snowflakes behind. Powers and abilities Latoshi is able to call upon his Ki as a source of energy to greatly enhance his speed, strength and defenses.[https://pastebin.com/eTzVseLW Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 4] Like Antoshi, he is able to communicate with Fireball, a Typhlosion,[https://pastebin.com/qqXZ67E4 Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 6] as well as fly.[https://pastebin.com/rLjzGGAe Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 5] His Ki can be manipulated into a physical manifestation,[https://pastebin.com/4NcCy8pU Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 4] which can then be used as a projectile weapon.[https://pastebin.com/aH8DNTJX Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 7] His powers are great enough to destroy the entirety of Fern TownLatoshi destroys Fern Town and raze a military black site.[https://pastebin.com/4yiqzrFs Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 5] He punched through the defenses of Antoshi, who was able to survive a ten-story fall with no injuries.[https://pastebin.com/4PJM7Six Excerpt from A Blond Ray of Sunshine, Chapters 5 & 6] He is swift enough to effortlessly dodge bullet fire.[https://pastebin.com/AXbwMc3M Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 5] With the energy Lazarus stole from him, he is fast enough to keep up and even outpace Antoshi, who can move at hypersonic speeds.Latoshi's speed confounds Antoshi However, he has limited experience fighting, as well as with using his Ki abilities. His skill depended heavily on Lazarus, who guided and taught him for some time, as well as giving him focus with his fighting ability.[https://pastebin.com/p3G1s3Yu Excerpt from Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 7] Reception and legacy Latoshi has been called “dark”,The PokéCommunity Forums - (Pokémon) Sibling Rivalry and “to talk the talk and walk the walk”.Sibling Rivalry - Page 2 - Serebii.net Forums (Archived screenshot) Early reviewers called into question whether 'Lazarus' is an actual being, some manifestation of Latoshi's psyche, or simply a result of schizophrenia. Theme song References Fanfiction Work * Sibling Rivalry (2018) * Intervention (2018) * Family Reunion (2019) External Links * Antoshi on FanFiction.Net * Antoshi on Archive of Our Own * Repository of links to Antoshi-related media and information